Dropgate has been confusing enough. It all began with Tiger Woods' approach shot on the 15th hole bouncing off the pin and splashing into the water. Then, he dropped the ball to take another shot at the pin and took a standard one-stroke penalty. However, Woods was unaware that by moving the ball back two yards, he was violating an obscure rule. Augusta's Rules Committee was not made aware of this until they were alerted to the possible violation by a television viewer at home.
However, they initially found nothing wrong on the video. It wasn't until Woods unintentionally revealed his decision to move the ball back two yards that the Committee reexamined his decision. However, Woods may not have accidentally violated the rule he thought he unintentionally did. Confused yet?
Yahoo! Sports delves further into the rabbit hole.
The Augusta Chronicle on Sunday printed two photos by staffer Michael Holahan of Woods' two chip shots from the 15th fairway. The first hit the flagstick and rolled into the water, forcing Woods to take a one-stroke penalty and then drop his ball "as nearly as possible" to his original location.
The Chronicle circled various divots in the 15th fairway to show Woods' second shot was in almost the exact same location as the first.
While the photos may not be conclusive evidence and they will no doubt be picked apart, Tiger does appear to be standing within inches of where he took his first shot, not the two yards that he himself thought he had moved.
So basically, Woods incriminated himself by suggested he dropped the ball two yards behind his original shot location, but based on the evidence he may not have been that far off. Woods obviously didn't knowingly break a rule and arrogantly ratted himself out as some have suggested. However, he may have cheated himself, if he told the media he broke a rule he actually didn't.
